Chamber of the Dwarven Depths
by Blackstaff
Summary: Mysterious attacks are happening at Mithral Hall, and Regis Rumblebelly goes to find Shadimir Deachron, who willingly aids the halfling. Can Shadimir find the one who is attacking the dwarves at Mithral Hall before it's too late?...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Nightal 1 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

Holding his war hammer close to his person, the red bearded cleric Ioan Bronzenail walked through the dark narrow tunnels that lay in the bowels of Mithral Hall. At his side, was the robust brown bearded dwarf named Bernard Fizzlepeaks.

Unlike Ioan, who wore long sleeved white robes, Bernard wore a thin set of leathers over his cotton shirt and leather breeches. In each hand, he carried a sharp miner's pick.

The dwarven pair continued to travel down the narrow tunnels, the walls damp with moist and patches of moss. Their three hour-long adventure had been uneventful thus far-that is until they came across a large metal door.

Ioan examined the door, finding drawings of snakes and spiders all over the outer edges. "What do ye think this means?" asked the robust dwarf, holding his picks.

The cleric wasn't sure. He closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to his patron god Moradin to help with the answer.

"Could be drow," suggested Bernard. Truth be told, he had little desire to remain in this particular area. The air was growing warm and strange noises were echoing throughout the tunnel. The increasing silence between him and the cleric wasn't helping with matters either.

"Let's just leave Ioan," Bernard whispered in a quiet voice. The cleric of Moradin ignored him, as a brown bag near the door had caught his attention.

Ioan quickly bent down and picked up the brown bag. He reached inside with his thick fingers and felt several coins, a few stones, and what he believed to be a small leather book.

"Ye're right," Ioan said in a gruff voice. "Let's go home."

Bernard breathed a sigh of relief and turned back but Ioan stared at the walls.

"Something wrong Ioan?" asked Bernard.

Sweat began to trickle down the cleric's forehead. "I thought I had just seen something move."

Regis Rumblebelly walked down the streets of the Undercity, his belly full after a long meal with his friend King Bruenor Battlehammer. After making a turn, the halfling stopped at Cleaver McWinder's butcher shop. Perhaps I could go pay Cleaver a visit, the halfling mused to himself.

"Someone help!" screamed a voice from the other end of the street.

Regis ran down the streets as fast as his short legs could carry him. When he reached his destination, he saw a small crowd of male and female dwarves (it was hard to tell the difference) gathered in a circle. He moved his way through the circle, and his eyes widened in shock and horror when he saw the mutilated bodies of two dwarves lying on the ground.

"What happened?" Regis asked.

"These two came from the tunnels, and then died on the street," answered a tall, broad shouldered dwarf named Aberfor Rumbutters, a seasoned veteran warrior, who was the local bartender at the Shining Helmet Inn. "From the looks of it, they fought some sort of creature, or creatures."

Regis studied the dead bodies, noticing the large gashes and claw marks they bore. Next to one of the bodies, was a brown bag.

"Could I have that bag?" Regis asked as he reached inside of his shirt and pulled out his ruby pendant.

Aberfor stared at the ruby pendant, and then nodded. "Yes you may Steward Regis."

Back at the palace, Regis took the bag and poured its contents on the floor.

On the floor sat a large pile of gold, two sapphire gemstones, a diamond, and a small black leather bound book. Regis bent down to pick up the book. Written in white on the front of the leather bound book were the words "The Half-Blood."

"Rumblebelly!" shouted a voice that caused Regis to unknowingly toss the book into the room belonging to Bruenor's adopted daughter Catti-brie.

Just as Regis was about to go and retrieve the book, King Bruenor's voice echoed through the hallway, telling the halfling to join him in the throne room. Regis quickly scooped up the gold and gems into the bag, then looked into Catti-brie's room.

"I'll get it later" Regis whispered softly, before leaving to join King Bruenor Battlehammer.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Nightal 13 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

Hidden in the shadows outside of Silverymoon's gates, Shadimir Deachron and his snow tiger companion Elros, watched as a circle of seven harpies descended from the sky and walked over to the broken down wagon that sat on the snow laced dirt road.

The pale skinned harpies unfolded their long bat-like wings as they moved closer to the wagon, opening their mouths wide, exposing their vampire fangs. From the hiding spot, Elros stood ready to attack.

"Wait for Jepetto and Battle-hammer," Shadimir whispered, scratching the snow tiger's ears.

The undead hunter and his animal friend watched as a stout metal construct emerged from inside the wagon. The metal warrior resembled a red bearded dwarf wearing a two-horned helm. One of the horns was whole, but the other was broken.

"Battle-Hammer attack!" shouted a voice from inside the wagon. The construct drew his sharp war-axe and charged the vampire harpy closest to him and slashed his weapon across her neck, lobbing her head off.

Tightening his cloak around his elven chain armor, Shadimir drew his sword Gabriel and his light mace. Together, he and Elros sprang out of the shadows and attacked the harpies. Shadimir stabbed his bastard sword through the gut of one of the harpy vampires, then slapped his mace into her chest.

The vampire let out a screech and lashed out at Shadimir with her claws. The hunter dodged the harpy's claws, then slashed his blade through the harpy's shoulders, separating her head from her body.

Behind Shadimir, Elros and Battle-hammer cut down two harpies. Battle-hammer's axe swept a vampire's head off of her shoulders, while the snow tiger's claws dug through a vampire's chest, cutting through the heart.

The three remaining harpies flew at Shadimir, swiping their claws at his body. Shadimir growled as two claws ripped through his armor and pierced his skin.

Using his quick reflexes, the silver haired hunter stabbed Gabriel deeply into one vampire's chest, breaking through her heart. He left Gabriel in the vampire's chest, and drew a wooden stake from his belt. On of the other vampires tried to lunge at him, but the hunter spun left, avoiding the attack. He then bent low and shoved the stake deeply into the heart of the harpy vampire.

While Shadimir had killed the second vampire, the last vampire harpy tried to pull Gabriel free from her fallen comrade's body. The moment she grasped the sword's hilt, a white lighting bolt shot up the weapon's pommel and hit the vampire, sending her flying through the air.

When the vampire harpy landed on the cold snowy ground, Shadimir drew another wooden stake from his belt and threw it. Just as the vampire rose to her feet, the stake found it's way into her heart.

As the vampire's body slumped to the ground, Elros walked over and pulled Gabriel free from the vampire's body with his strong teeth. The snow tiger walked over to Shadimir, who gently took the sword from the tiger's jaw..

"Jepetto are you all right?" Shadimir asked, sheathing his sword as the snow began to fall from the night sky, some of it landing in his silver hair.

"My foot was stuck," the grey skinned gnome answered as he stepped out of the wagon and tightened his thick brown cloak over his body. Jepetto smiled as he removed his green lens goggles from over his eyes and asked," Did I miss anything?"

Shadimir shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. At least traders going to Silverymoon won't have to worry about the vampire harpies anymore."

Jepetto nodded as he walked over to his friend. "Yes we'll have to tell Alustriel that we finished the job."

Shadimir smiled as he felt the snowflakes pile on his clothes and his head. "Let's get some tea and warm up first."

Shadimir opened the front door and walked inside his home. With his wife Stephanie, and the twins Andreya and Jacen gone (they had gone to the Spirit Soaring to bring Dalla home for the holidays), Shadimir expected silence and darkness. He was surprised to find a faint light coming from inside of the study.

"Looks like I've got house guests," the undead hunter whispered to Jepetto and Elros, who had just walked though the door. The deep gnome's construct was still outside, pretending to be an oversize lawn ornament.

"Maybe it's Alustriel," Jepetto whispered back as he drew a blue colored wand from his belt.

The undead hunter shook his head as he drew Gabriel from its scabbard. "Alustriel always tells me when she's coming over...well most of the time she does."

Armed with their weapons of choice, Shadimir and Jepetto ran into the study, ready to attack the intruder.

"Wait...please," said a frightened Regis Rumblebelly as he stood on the chair, holding up his mace.

Shadimir and Jepetto shook their heads as they lowered their weapons. "Regis, what brings you here?" the hunter asked, sheathing Gabriel.

Regis Rumblebelly sank back into the comfortable chair, wiping a hand through his brown curly hair. He glanced at Jepetto, who said that he would go make some tea. After the deep gnome left the study, Regis looked back at Shadimir.

"Not much...well, for over a ten-day, strange things have been happened at Mithral Hall. Dwarves have been getting attacked. The guards haven't been quick enough to catch the culprit in the act. I was thinking that you could come and investigate the attacks and maybe find out who the attacker is."

Shadimir crossed his arms and sighed. "I don't know Regis, I just got home from Waterdeep, Stephanie and the children are going to be back soon, and Jepetto and I just finished fighting vampire harpies."

"Well maybe you just need some friendly persuasion," said Regis as he reached into his shirt and pulled out his magical ruby pendant. He didn't want to have to user the ruby's charm ability, but if the magic could get Shadimir to help...

Regis never finished his though, for as soon as he pulled out the ruby pendant, Elros ran into the room and jumped into the air, snatching the pendant from the halfling's fingers. The halfling jumped out of the chair and tried to get his pendant back, but the snow tiger was too quick, leaping away every time the halfling made an attempt to try and grab his pendant.

"Be careful Regis, Elros might swallow it," Shadimir said with a laugh as the snow tiger ran behind him. Regis lunged at Elros once more, but the hunter stopped him. "Okay Regis, I'll go to Mithral Hall and help you."

Regis looked at Shadimir, then glared at the snow tiger. Elros dropped the ruby pendant onto the floor, then walked over to the corner and laid down for a quick nap. In the next second, Jepetto came into the study with three glasses full of tea. The svirfneblin handed Shadimir and Regis their glasses, then drank his own.

"So how do we get to Mithral Hall?" Shadimir asked after taking a drink of tea. "We'll want to get there quickly if we want to catch this attacker."

Regis shrugged. He had arrived in Silverymoon by way of a teleportation spell cast by a wizard back at Mithral Hall. "We could always ask a wizard for a teleportation. Personally I've always admired Alustriel's fiery chariot."

"The chariot," Jepetto said, looking at Shadimir. "We could use Alustriel's chariot to fly to Mithral Hall."

"Do you think she would let us borrow her chariot?" Regis asked.

Shadimir finished his cup of tea and said," Only one way to find out."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Nightal 13 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

Accompanied by two palace guards, Shadimir walked into the Silver Palace. Several portraits were lined up against the walls and a large detailed map of the Silver Marshes was painted on the eastern wall.

"She must still be in Sundabar," the shorter of the two guards as he turned and walked away.

The other guard smiled and told Shadimir that they would be waiting outside. Shadimir looked around the palace lobby. He had hoped Alustriel would be here this evening.

"Shadimir, what brings ye to Alustriel's palace this evening?" whispered a voice from behind him.

The hunter turned around, seeing the portrait of a tall, elderly man wearing red robes and a red pointed hat. The man inside the portrait smiled at Shadimir. "Elminster, are you actually inside of the portrait?" the undead hunter asked.

From inside the painting, the wizard named Elminster nodded. "Wizards like the Blackstaff and myself use paintings like these as portals. I'm actually on my way to Blackstaff Tower. I take it ye were here to speak with Alustriel."

The undead hunter walked closer to the painting and brushed the surface. It sure did feel like a painting. The hunter wondered what kind of magic could produce such an interesting item. He reminded himself to tell Jepetto about it.

After the elderly man let out a grunt to remind Shadimir that he had been asked a question, the undead hunter answered," I wanted to ask Alustriel if I could borrow her chariot to ride to Mithral Hall, but seeing as she isn't here..."

Before Shadimir could say anymore, Elminster shook his head. "Young man, do ye think that she would let ye use her chariot in the first place? Do ye even know how to drive it?"

Shadimir nodded. "I've driven it a couple of times yes."

"Well then, ye should just take it," the old mage said. "Just make sure ye don't scratch it too bad."

The hunter raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Are you sure Alustriel won't mind?"

Elminster reached into his pocket and pulled out a pipe. "If it was anyone else, she would, but since it's Shadimir who wants do drive it, I think she'd be fine with it. Do ye know how to tie the horses and everything?" The undead hunter nodded, and Elminster added," Good. Ye know Shadimir, ye are always seen at the palace. If ye weren't married to Stephanie, I'd say ye were Alustriel's man, but don't tell Stephanie or Alustriel I said that."

Shadimir sighed and rolled his eyes before he thanked the old mage for his help. After that, he began walking to the stables where the chariot was kept, hoping that Alustriel wouldn't be too harsh when she discovered her chariot was gone.

Shadimir held the reins tightly as the fiery chariot flew through the night sky. The snowfall had ceased for the evening, but the air was cool and crisp. Behind Shadimir sat Jepetto and Elros, who looked down below, hardly believing that the great forests looked so tiny from up above.

Regis and Battle-hammer stood behind the gnome and the tiger. The halfling stared at the dwarven construct. He looks a lot like Bruenor, Regis said to himself, wondering what the dwarf king would think of his iron double.

Up in front, Shadimir's ears picked up a thumping sound hitting the chariot.

"Someone is shooting arrows at us," Jepetto shouted as an arrow hit below his feet. No sooner than that first arrow hit below the gnome's feet, another arrow hit close to where Regis was standing.

Shadimir scanned the area, seeing two orcs riding on the backs of large sized hideous looking buzzards. The orcs knocked their arrows and fired once more. One of the arrows flew into Shadimir's shoulder while the other missed the chariot completely.

After pulling the arrow out, Shadimir turned the chariot around and snapped the reins, commanding the two horses that pulled the fiery chariot, to charge at the orcs.

Jepetto reached onto his belt and pulled out a wand. He pointed it at one of the orcs and shouted the command word. A bolt of lightning shot from the svirfneblin's wand, hitting the orc in the chest. The orc let out a gasp before he fell off of the bird's back. The buzzard let out a shriek and flew off into the distance.

After Jepetto shot the lightning bolt, Shadimir handed him the reins and told the deep gnome to get closer to the orcs. When Jepetto was close enough, the hunter jumped off of the chariot and landed on the buzzard's back. The orc threw a punch at Shadimir, but the undead hunter ducked out of the way.

Back on the fiery chariot, Jepetto handed Regis the reins, then aimed his wand and fired a lightning bolt at the orc.

On the bird's back, Shadimir tried his best to keep his balance, but the hideous bird jerked left and right. The lightning bolt flew through the air and hit the buzzard instead of the orc, causing the bird to turn over in a circle, forcing Shadimir and the orc to fall off it's back.

The buzzard let out shriek and charged the chariot, but another lightning bolt from the deep gnome's wand, sent it flying away.

"Should we go back for him?" Regis asked Jepetto as they looked down.

The deep gnome shook his head. "Let's land in Mithral Hall first, then Battle-hammer, Elros, and I will come out here and look for Shadimir.

Regis Rumblebelly sighed as Jepetto took hold of one of the reins once more. Jepetto glanced at Elros, who kept his eyes closed. The snow tiger would know if Shadimir was dead. "Don't worry Elros, Shadimir will make it," Jepetto whispered.

Shadimir groaned as he opened his eyes. Snow was falling from the sky once more and lightly covering his body. The hunter looked over, seeing the dead orc's body, then he kissed the wedding ring on his finger, a golden band shaped of intertwined leaves. The ring itself had cast the spell feather fall, which allowed the hunter to slowly fall through the air and land safely on the ground.

The hunter stood up and brushed the snow off of his body, then preceded west. Though it was dark, Shadimir had walked his path with Drizzt DoUrden before, and knew that Mithral Hall wasn't too far away.

"Shouldn't be too much longer," he whispered as he noticed a large oval shaped rock near the trees. Next to the rock was a small egg.

Decided to prolong his journey to Mithral Hall for a few moments longer, Shadimir bent down and picked up the egg. He studied it close, then smiled when he discovered that it was an owl's egg he found. He began to look around, trying to find the nest it might have fallen out of. When he didn't see one, he tucked the egg into his pocket to keep it warm.

Then he proceeded on the night journey that would take him to dwarven kingdom of Mithral Hall.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Nightal 13 1732 DR, Year of Wild Magic

"What do you mean we can not leave the gates!" a furious Jepetto. "Shadimir is still out there." The deep gnome's voice was loud enough for everyone in the fest hall to hear.

Regis placed a hand on Jepetto's shoulder, but quickly took it away once he saw the glare in the svirfneblin's eyes. "Calm yourself Jepetto," Regis said in a quiet voice. "It was ordered by King Bruenor Battlehammer himself. With these attacks going on, no one is allowed to wander the streets this late at night without an escort."

Jepetto shook his head while Regis left his table and walked over to another table that was being occupied by a red haired female human. Regis tried to talk to the woman, who Jepetto knew to be King Bruenor's daughter Catti-brie. The woman ignored the halfling, and then continued to read the black book she held in her hands.

"These dwarves probably couldn't tell day from night," Jepetto mumbled as Elros walked over and lay next to his feet. The deep gnome smiled and scratched the snow tiger on his head.

Battle-hammer walked over and sat next to his creator. Many dwarves and gnomes present in the fest hall cast odd glances at the construct. Some of them silently praised the deep gnome's craftsmanship and detail, while others criticized it, saying that construct was a poor substitute for the real King Bruenor Battlehammer.

Jepetto turned once more and looked over at Catti-brie's table. The red haired woman saw the gnome's eyes and responded with a glare of her own, then she went back to her book.

"At least you got here safely," Shadimir shouted from the fest hall's doors.

Before Jepetto could turn to meet his friend, Elros's eyes snapped open. Upon seeing his master, the snow tiger ran over to the hunter, and then stopped at his feet.

"Good to see you Elros," Shadimir said softly as he scratched behind the snow tiger's ears.

"Did you just get in?" asked the deep gnome as Shadimir and Elros walked over to his table.

"I would have been here soon," Shadimir remarked," but Bruenor's guards at the gates were questioning me. Another dwarf just got attacked."

Jepetto sighed. "I guess that would explain why we're being kept here. Oh, and Alustriel's chariot flew off when we landed."

The hunter nodded and took his eyes off of Jepetto for a moment and noticed Bruenor's daughter Catti-brie staring at him. Her blue eyes were full of anger.

_Kill...Kill...I want to rip...I want to taste blood._

Shadimir shook his head. He wondered where that voice in his head came from.

"Shadimir, are you feeling all right?" asked Jepetto.

The undead hunter looked back at Jepetto and nodded. "I thought I heard...never mind."

The svirfneblin raised an eyebrow and asked," Are you sure?"

Shadimir nodded once more, then added," We should go see Bruenor."

"Why he looks like he could be me brother," Bruenor Battlehammer commented as he threw an arm around Battle-hammer.

"Me brother!" Battle-hammer shouted as he and Bruenor stood next to each other. Many of the guards and soldier that occupied the throne room were confused, as they had great difficulty telling the construct and Bruenor apart.

Shadimir, who had found it hard not to laughed, stepped up to King Bruenor and said," Regis tells me that these attacks have been happening for days now."

"Aye lad they have," Bruenor explained. "We've found dwarves who are either turned to stone, bitten and paralyzed, or turned into a block of ice. It's unusual."

Shadimir looked at Jepetto, who shrugged. "Either its some sort of creature, or a powerful spell caster," the deep gnome suggested.

"Well whatever it is, our dwarves can't catch it," said the dwarf king. "It all started when me guards found those two dead dwarves who were explorin the tunnels."

Shadimir quickly turned to Jepetto and said," Jepetto we can start from there." The undead hunter turned back to Bruenor and asked," Do you have anyone who know anything about these attacks, or who could help us."

Bruenor shrugged. "Me boy Wulfgar went off to find Drizzt and Aliyah. Ye'd might want to ask me girl, but she's been acting a bit odd. All she does is sit around and put her nose in that book of hers."

Jepetto and Shadimir looked at each other, both of them remembering seeing Catti-brie with a black book at the fest hall.

The hunter turned to Bruenor and bowed. "We'll keep you informed on what's going on."

"Ye best do that, and just so he know," Bruenor said in a calm voice," there's no hard feeling about Aliyah. If it were any other woman, I'd have the elf's head for breaking me girl's heart...but Aliyah saved my life once."

Shadimir nodded, though he wondered when Aliyah had saved the dwarf king's life.

He looked at Jepetto, and together they left the king's throne room, concentrated on the task at hand.

_Let me rip you...Let me taste you...Let me kill you..._

Those words echoed in Shadimir's mind as he and Elros moved down the quiet streets. Though no one was allowed unescorted, Shadimir had gotten special privileges to do so. Jepetto and Battle-hammer were back at the palace, watching the owl egg that Shadimir had found earlier in the evening.

When the hunter and his animal companion turned the corner, they both saw a small puddle of blood on the ground. Shadimir looked up, seeing what he thought was an ice sculpture of a stout dwarf, wearing armor.

Shadimir closed his eyes and prayed to the gods to keep this dwarf's soul safe. He wasn't sure if the clerics or wizards could restore the dwarf back to flesh.

Nevertheless, Shadimir, along with Elros, raced back to the palace to inform King Bruenor of what just happened.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Nightal 14 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

The next morning, Shadimir, Jepetto, Elros, and Battle-hammer were all studying the tunnel entrance where some of the guards said the two dwarves had emerged. Shadimir sighed, thinking about the dwarf he had found the night before. From Regis, he learned the dwarf's name to be Creeves Goldlense, a maker of helmets.

"I wonder if Catti-brie would know anything?" Jepetto asked out loud.

"What makes you think that she would," the undead hunter answered.

The svirfneblin shrugged. "I don't know, just a guess. I'm going to get some breakfast and clean up Battle-hammer."

Shortly after Jepetto and Battle-hammer and Elros left (to get some breakfast the hunter assumed) Shadimir stepped inside of the tunnels His fingers brushed the cave walls, feeling large claw marks and dents. "Could be possibly a creature," Shadimir whispered softly as he reached into his belt and pulled out his sculpting knife. He took one step forward, then stopped. His ears picked up the sound of shuffling from behind.

Shadimir was about to turn to face the newcomer, but then he felt delicate hands push hard on his back. The hunter lost his balance and rolled a few feet down the tunnel.

Shadimir quickly stepped to his feet, pulling Gabriel and his mace from their places. The hunter's bastard sword vibrated softly in his hands, which meant undead were nearby.

The hunter turned around, seeing six zombies, two that resembled dwarves, and the other four resembling drow. He stepped next to the closest drow zombie and drove his mace into the zombie's face, causing the body to turn to dust. Shadimir then slashed Gabriel in a lower arc, cutting through the torso of a one-eyed drow zombie.

With two zombies down, Shadimir stepped back, blocking the rusty weapons the four remaining zombies were swinging at him.

Using his agility, Shadimir rolled left and bashed his light mace into a dwarf zombie's rib cage, then stabbed Gabriel through the same zombie's chest and watched as the undead monster fell to pieces.

The hunter stepped back as the three remaining zombies advanced. He made a quick slashed with his sword that finished one drow zombie, then made a backhanded slash with his sword that finished the remaining drow zombie.

The final dwarf zombie threw itself at Shadimir, but the hunter stepped back, allowing the zombie to hit the ground.

Shadimir held Gabriel still for a moment, then drove Gabriel through the zombie's back.

After putting away his weapons, Shadimir looked down the dark tunnel. Something about this area felt very familiar to him.

"Shadimir, are you all right down there?" Jepetto asked from the entrance of the tunnel. The hunter raised to his gnome friend to tell him what just happened.

After deciding to put the search on hold, Shadimir and Elros explored Mithral Hall's marketplace. They were many fine dwarven goods on sale. Weapons, armor, jewelry, and other quality items.

Shadimir and Elros stopped at a small wooden booth where there were sais, daggers, and other small weapons were on display. The one item that caught Shadimir's eye was a bo stick that had runes carved in a spiral motion.

"Do you think Dalla would like this?" Shadimir asked his animal companion. Elros's lips parted in a smile.

Shadimir smiled as well. He had wanted to get something for Dalla after the battle had taken place at the Spirit Soaring over a month ago.

After purchasing the bo staff, Shadimir turned to see someone-who he did not expect-approaching him.

"Good evening Shadimir," Catti-brie greeted in a cold voice. "Me father tells me that you and Jepetto are hard at work, finding the one who has been attacking the dwarves." The hunter's eyes immediately noticed the black book in her hand.

Taking his eyes off of the book, Shadimir nodded as he kept his hand on the bo stick. The snow tiger let out a low growl as he stared up Catti-brie.

Catti-brie glared at Elros, then glanced at the bo stick the hunter carried. "That's a nice looking item. It seems that Rumblebelly and Drizzt were right when they said that ye own items of great beauty."

Shadimir sighed as he stared into Catti-brie's cold eyes. Unlike before, he found no emotion in them.

"This is for my daughter Dalla," Shadimir said, holding onto the bo stick. "A present for her when she comes home for the holidays."

"Ye're quite the family man," Catti-brie commented in a cold voice. "I'm sure ye know about the baby Drizzt is having with Aliyah."

The undead hunter tried not to say anything when he heard the faint hiss when Catti-brie mentioned his sister-in law's name. "As a matter of fact, I do know about it," he said with a smile. "I'm sure you must be happy for Drizzt."

"I am," the young woman responded. Shadimir could hear the sadness in her voice. Then, after a moment of uncomfortable silence, Catti-brie turned and walked away. Holding the bo stock, Shadimir wondered if Jepetto was right.

Could Catti-brie know something about the attacks.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Nightal 16 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

After two days of no results, another attack had taken place, but instead of the attack coming from inside of Mithral Hall, the attack came from the outside the dwarven stronghold.

Shadimir and Elros arrived outside, finding the bodies of two dwarf guards, both of them stabbed to death. Then Shadimir saw their killer.

In the air, a dwarf sized skeleton weapon black armor rode on the back of a horse that appeared to be a zombie. Many pieces of skin were hanging off the horse's body, and the eye sockets were empty.

"The monster has been unleashed," The skeleton cried as pointed his sword forward and flew at Shadimir. The undead hunter stepped out of the way of the attack and waited for the skeleton warrior to land. Once the skeleton landed, Elros charged, and tackled the undead horse, throwing the skeleton off the horse's back.

Shadimir drew Gabriel and charged the armored skeleton. With one quick thrust, Gabriel was driven through the skeleton's armor and bones.

"The monster is unleashed," the skeleton howled in a high pitch voice," and you won't be able to stop it." In the next moment, the skeleton turned to dust, and the black armor fell to the cold ground.

Then Regis Rumblebelly came outside and looked at Shadimir. "Shadimir, I need you to come see this. Follow me to the palace."

"We found them like this earlier, in the library," Regis explained as he showed Shadimir Jepetto's' body, which appeared to be turned to stone. Next to Jepetto, Battle-hammer's body lay on the ground, also turned to stone.

Elros stood next to Shadimir, his eyes filled with sadness. Shadimir patted the snow tiger's head, then looked at Regis. "Those who have been turned to stone, can they be restored?"

Regis bit his lip. "We've been able to restore them, though it's a very slow process. I must be going now Shadimir, I have a meeting to attend to. I'll make sure our priests work on him as soon as possible."

'Thank you Regis," Shadimir said quietly as Regis left the room. The hunter stared at the bodies of his friends. He was confident that both Jepetto could be restored to flesh-or in Battle-hammer's case, metal. Seeing them like this, fueled Shadimir's desire to find the one who has been attacking the dwarves, and put an end to it.

The hunter sighed, then noticed Elros holding something in his teeth. The snow tiger dropped the object next to Shadimir's feet, and then the hunter realized that the object Elros had found, was Catti-brie's black book.

Shadimir picked up the book and looked at the cover. "The Half-Blood," he said as he read the cover. The hunter opened to the first page, and read the words that gave a basic description of the story. "A half-elf sorcerer that fights an evil wizard from the land of Palarona," Shadimir mused. "It sounds interesting.

He began thumbing through the book some more, but noticed that all the pages, but the first one, were blank. "That's odd, Shadimir whispered, drawing Elros's attention. "I wonder why the story isn't finished?" the hunter asked when he turned to the second page. After a moment of silence, words began to appear on the page.

_The story is not finished, because the monster is not yet vanquished._

Shadimir stared at the book, confused at what he just saw. He walked over at a nearby table and grabbed a quill and an inkbottle. Could the book actually be talking to me, he wondered as he dipped the quill in the inkbottle. Then Shadimir wrote: Do you know anything about the monster attacking Mithral Hall? A second after Shadimir's writing sank into the page, more words appeared.

_Yes. The monster is a terrible beast. It has the torso of a snake, and three heads. One a white goat that can turn anything to stone with its gaze. The other is a white dragon that can freeze anything. The final head is a lion, which can paralyze anything it bites._

"It's a chimera!" Shadimir said, looking at Elros. "It has three heads, though I've never heard of a chimera with a serpent's torso. Still, I'm going to destroy it. Question is, where am I going to find it?" After asking this question, more words appeared on the book's pages.

_Find the Chamber and You will find the monster._

"The chamber has to be in the tunnels where those dwarves went," the hunter said with excitement in his voice. Shadimir tossed the book on the ground and left the room to tell King Bruenor what he had just learned. Elros then followed his master.

When Shadimir and Elros disappeared from the room, a mysterious figure emerged from the closet and grabbed the black book that the undead hunter had so carelessly left on the floor.

Shadimir would never get to talk to King Bruenor like he wanted. Mithral Hall's palace was in chaos, as guards, priests, and even the cooking staff were in a panic. Then Shadimir saw the bloody message on the wall.

**Her bones will lie in the Chamber forever.**

With Elros at his side, Shadimir searched the palace for anyone who could help him. After an hour of searching, Shadimir found Regis sitting in a wooden chair.

"The attacker has taken Catti-brie," the halfling whispered, his face full of despair.

Shadimir looked into Regis's eyes. "It will be all right Regis, I know where the Chamber is.

The halfling looked at the undead hunter with disbelief. "Are you sure?"

The hunter nodded. "Yes, but we have to tell Bruenor at once."

"Bruenor is already gone," Regis said, shaking his head. "He and the others went searching for this chamber hours ago They're most likely in the mines. He told me to stay here and wait for you."

Shadimir sighed, then looked at Regis. "Well, then it's going to be us three then."

Shadimir Deachron, Regis Rumblebelly, and Elros walked down the long and dark tunnel. Regis kept quiet as he held the torch, but he did let out a little shriek when he saw a trail of spiders moving past them.

After several more minutes of walking, they reached a large iron door. Shadimir noticed the drawings of snakes and spiders on the door's edges.

_Come in...Let me rip you...Watch me rip her...Watch me kill you both..._

"This is it," Shadimir said as the voice disappeared from his head. "I've been hearing it's voice inside my mind from time to time, though I'm not sure why."

Regis looked at Shadimir, confused at what the hunter had just said. Yet rather than pressing the subject, the halfling asked," Shall we open it?"

Shadimir walked up to the door and pressed it. The door let out a hissing noise as he slid down into the ground.

After whispering a pray, Shadimir, Elros, and Regis walked inside.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Nightal 16 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

The walls inside the chamber were dark grey. Images of serpents were painted all over the walls, and the light was provided by a glowing orb that hung from the top of the ceiling. In the center of the room, Catti-brie slept sound fully, holding the black book in her arms.

Shadimir and Elros walked in slowly while Regis sped over to the sleeping Catti-brie and gently nudged her. "Catti-brie, please wake up."

Behind Regis, Shadimir stared at the sleeping woman. He hoped that her blue eyes would flutter open, and that she would greet her halfling fried. Yet she continued to sleep, despite any off the halfling's efforts to wake her.

"We'll have to carry her away before the chimera comes," Shadimir told Regis.

"It won't come," a cold feminine voice said from the shadows," not until it's called." The silver haired hunter looked into the direction where he heard the voice. A lich floated in the air, wearing white silk robes over her skeletal body. A silver tiara sat on her forehead, and a pair of silver bracelets covered each arm.

Regis winced when he saw the lich, his stomach turning in knots as the strips of her dried up skin dangled from her bony hands.

"She won't wake, not while I'm floating here," the lich said in a calm manner.

Shadimir stared at the lich. "I take it you're the one who has been sending the chimera to attack the dwarves."

"As much as I would like to take credit for that," the lich answered, shaking her head," it was Catti-brie who ordered the chimera to attack the dwarves. It was her that summoned the skeletons, and that rider you encountered earlier today."

Regis shook his head, anger in his eyes. "I don't believe you. Catti-brie wouldn't harm anyone who lived in Mithral Hall."

"She really didn't know she was doing it," explained the lich. "You could say that she was in a trance. You see gentlemen, when Catti-brie discovered the book in her room and learned that there was someone who would listen to her problems, she began pouring her heart out to me. She told me that the man she loved ran off with some trollop. She told me that some gnome made an abomination that looked like her father." The lich floated close to Shadimir. "She told me about this man named Shadimir, ruined her life."

Regis and Elros stood close to Catti-brie while the lich circled Shadimir.

"I was getting tired of listening to her whining, but it was all worth it to gain control of her mind," the lich continued," but then the power of the book began to scare her. So she threw the book into a room, and who should find it, but you Shadimir. A person I was most anxious to meet."

Shadimir stared at the lich, Gabriel vibrating violently in its sheath. "Why did you want to meet me?"

"I had to see if what Catti-brie said was true," the lich responded. "She told me how you hunt the walking undead. I imagine that killing an undead dragon is challenging enough, but two? That's quite an accomplishment."

"I had help," Shadimir commented, drawing his weapons.

The lich's bony jaw turned up in a smile. "Then I devised a plan to lure you down here. Making you hear the chimera in your mind when you were near Catti-brie. Talking to you through the diary. Turning your friend Jepetto and that construct into stone. Even bringing Catti-brie down here, though she walked in on her own two feet. At first it was all about frightening dwarves, and driving them out of their kingdom but as of late, my new target has been you."

"To finish the story, the monster must be destroyed," the lich sang. "The Half-Blood sorcerer couldn't defeat me, so let's see how you fare. Let's match the power of Umbria, lost sage of Palarona, against the famous Shadimir Deachron."

Shadimir heard a loud hiss coming from the other end of the chamber. Then his eyes spotted the monster.

The chimera stood as tall as a giant. Its lower body was a white colored serpent's torso. The three heads were exactly as the lich had written in the book to him. One head was a white goat's head, the middle was a white dragon's head, and the third head was a white lion's head.

The chimera slithered quickly over to Shadimir, all three heads biting at him. Shadimir quickly blocked all three of the heads, then stabbed Gabriel into the chimera's body.

All three heads let out a terrible shriek. Shadimir noticed the goat's eyes. They reminded him of the eyes on a basilisk.

"Elros, attack the goat!" Shadimir cried as the lion's head struck at him with lightning speed. The hunter thrust Gabriel through the lion's head as the fangs bit deeply through his left arm. He then felt the numbness going through his body.

At the same time, the lion's head let go and slumped down, Shadimir dropped his weapons as his body fell to the floor. "Pink potion," were Shadimir's last words before the paralysis took over.

Elros ran and jumped onto the chimera's back, digging his claws into the monster's skin. The snow tiger found his way up to the goat's head and raked his claws across both eyes, blinding the goat.

The chimera moved back and forth, trying to throw the tiger off of its body. This bought Regis time, as the halfling reached onto his belt and pulled out a pink colored potion. He ran over to Shadimir and fed the potion down his throat. The hunter felt strength returning to his limps, but his eyes watched as the white dragonhead shot a blast of ice, covering the halfling.

On the chimera, Elros dug his claws through the goat head's skull and bit deeply, until the goat head stopped moving, and then he jumped into the air and landed on his feet.

A few feet away from the snow tiger, Shadimir slowly rose to his feet. With the exception of his left arm, Shadimir had freedom of movement. He drew a dark red potion from his belt-drank it-then picked up his sword and rolled left to avoid a blast of ice.

Another blast of ice came Shadimir's way, but thanks to the red potion, the undead hunter blew a blast of fire that engulfed the ice.

Elros raced next to his master as more ice rained from the dragonhead's mouth and fell on him. Being used to intense colds, Elros was immune to the effects of the dragon's breath. The snow tiger quickly shook off the ice and licked his lips.

Shadimir used this moment of opportunity to move in front of the chimera and stab it twice. He then finished the chimera with one final stab through its heart.

The lich let out a scream, as the chimera fell to the floor. "How could have this happened?" she whispered. "It's over."

Shadimir walked over to Catti-brie, his left arm, bleeding and dangling. He then looked over at the frozen Regis, then at the lich. With a smile on his face, he took the black book from Catti-brie's arm.

"What are you doing?" the lich asked.

Shadimir dropped the book at his feet, then stabbed it with Gabriel's sharp tip.

"No!" Umbria the lich screamed as a beam of lighter broke through her body. The undead hunter continued to stab the book with his bastard sword into the book several more times until the lich's body exploded.

Once the lich was gone, Catti-brie's eyes fluttered opened. Once she saw Shadimir, and the dead body of the chimera, the young woman spoke. "Shadimir...it was Umbria...she was controlling me...she was from the book...it was all from the book."

Shadimir smiled and stroked Catti-brie's cheek. "It's all right Catti-brie. It's all over. Let's get Regis to the clerics, and then let's get you back to your father.


	8. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Nightal 20 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

Shadimir sat quietly on a bed in a small guest room at Bruenor's palace. His left arm was in a sling, and in his lap sat a tray of cheeses and meats. Laying next to Shadimir, was the owl's egg he found in the forest. Elros slept on the floor next to Shadimir's bed, dreaming about roasted chickens. Regis, Jepetto and Battle-hammer were successfully restored to flesh. The deep gnome was now showing off Battle-hammer to some of the dwarven children.

A female dwarf popped her head into Shadimir's room. "Shadimir, ye have a visitor."

The hunter nodded and watched as the dwarf left and a beautiful woman with long silver hair stepped into the room. Her dark blue silk dress went all the way to the floor, and she wore a golden tiara with a sapphire in the middle.

"Alustriel, what brings you here," greeted Shadimir as he sat up in bed.

Alustriel of Silverymoon smiled back. "It seems the old mage was telling the truth when he said you were here in Mithral Hall. Word is going around that you saved Bruenor Battlehammer's daughter."

"Yes, she has now left Mithral Hall with Regis to find Drizzt and the others," Shadimir said softly. .

"That's good...Why haven't you gotten your arm healed?" The Lady of Silverymoon asked Shadimir, changing the subject "I'm sure Bruenor would lend a few of his best clerics to heal you."

Shadimir shook his head. "There are still those who need to be restored and healed. Besides it doesn't really hurt."

Alustriel sighed. "Still, King Bruenor is very grateful for what you did, as am I." The Lady of Silverymoon smiled at Shadimir, then she turned her head for a moment.

"Is everything all right?" Shadimir asked. The Lady of Silverymoon held her hand to silence Shadimir, then turned back to him with a smile on her face.

"Stephanie just arrived home with Dalla and the twins," Alustriel replied. "I need to get you, Jepetto, Elros, and Battle-hammer home."

Shadimir nodded and stood up, but then a small dwarf child came into his room and gave the hunter a note. The undead hunter unfolded the note, and read it. "King Bruenor wants me to meet him," Shadimir said.

Shadimir entered Bruenor's throne room and walked up to the throne. The dwarf king smiled down at Shadimir. "Well lad, I just wanted to thank ye for savin me girl, and helping me kingdom. I want to give ye something, and don't give me any guff about not wanting rewards. Ye earned it."

The undead hunter nodded. His eyes widened when King Bruenor presented him with a dark blue orb, which had stars glowing in the middle. One of the Eyes of Selune, Shadimir told himself.

Shadimir took the orb from Bruenor with his good arm and bowed. "Me clerics found it in the Halls of Dumathoin," The dwarf king said with a smile.

Bruenor looked around and then leaned in close. "Before ye go lad, do ye think the gnome would make me one of those constructs? Ye know, to have around the palace."

"I'll look into it. Maybe the gods be with you," Shadimir answered. Bruenor Battlehammer was about to say the same thing, but he had a good idea that the gods were with Shadimir. Still, that didn't stop the dwarf king from giving Shadimir a hearty handshake goodbye.

_**For David**_


	9. Author's Note

Author's Note:

First of all, many of the creations in this story are property of the Forgotten Realms and not my own. The characters, creatures, and lands created by me, are my property.

Many of these events relate close to Harry Potter. A magical book taking possession of someone's body. A red haired girl being taken down in the chamber. Some of the lines are similar to Harry Potter as well. As far as the whole book thing goes, the lich's power was bound to the book. She used so much of her power to create the book for her soul to live in, that it zapped most of her energy. She did have enough energy to sick the monster on Ioan and Bernard, but for further action, she needed someone to use. As far as the chimera in this story goes, it was slightly different than other chimeras. Rather than having the body of a dragon, it had the torso of a snake.


End file.
